Closings

Severe Weather

Top 10 most overplayed songs that you used to like but don't anymore

Everyone has one song, maybe more than one, you once looked forward to. Now after hearing it played too often, sometimes over the course of years, you quickly turn the volume down when it comes on. Read on to see if your song is on the list.

It's a verse you've heard all too often by now. "I'm a joker. I'm a smoker. I'm a midnight toker." Perhaps the next verse should be, "I'm sick of this song." The Steve Miller Band has been around since the late 1960s, but hardly a day goes by that we don't get stuck listening to "The Joker" on the radio during a long road trip. And then we immediately change the station.

Contrary to popular belief, Lynyrd Skynyrd is not from Alabama. The band actually hails from neighboring Florida. Yet, many assume the late Ronnie Van Zant and his band of rock-and-roll rebels were born and raised in the Heart of Dixie. This is because of 1974's "Sweet Home Alabama." Although the band carried on without Van Zant after a 1977 plane crash claimed his and two other band members' lives, Skynyrd's most notable contribution to music history is arguably the unofficial state song of Alabama. Unfortunately, it's also heard ad nauseam.

Since 1987, "Pour Some Sugar on Me" has been played time and time again at bars, clubs and on the radio. Women love it. And men tolerate it because women love it. This Def Leppard rock anthem may have been fun at first, but it quickly became annoying.

"Hey where did we go?" How about crazy after having to listen to this 1967 Van Morrison tune over and over again at weddings and karaoke bars? "Brown Eyed Girl" might be more overdone than a steak that's been on a grille for more than an hour. There are so many great Morrison songs in his voluminous catalogue, but this ranks near the bottom because of its excessive exposure.

This is one of those tunes that a person always mentions when asked to name a song by the Eagles. That's a testament to the overexposure it receives among a laundry list of better Eagles songs. "Hotel California" and the 1976 album of the same name earned the Eagles a Grammy Award, but the song -- an allegory about hedonism, self-destruction and greed in the music industry -- has run its course after more than three decades of incessant airtime.

Blame the series finale of the popular HBO television show "The Sopranos" for resurrecting this 1981 Journey tune that familiarized a whole new generation with the voice of the band's former frontman Steve Perry. After the finale aired in June 2007, the result was a surge of iTunes sales for "Don't Stop Believin'" the next day. It also became the top-selling digital download of a song not released this century, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

When AC/DC's "Back in Black" album was released in 1980, it introduced the world to Brian Johnson. He replaced Bon Scott, who died of alcohol poisoning months earlier, as lead singer. "You Shook Me All Night Long" quickly became the best-known AC/DC song of the Johnson-era. This electric rock anthem tells of a man's sex-fueled romp that made male listener's envious of his exploits "with those American thighs." But enough is enough.

Often referred to as one of the greatest rock-and-roll songs of all-time, Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" is also one of the most overplayed since its release in 1971. Give credit to actor Mike Myers and the writers of "Wayne's World" for poking fun at the song during a scene from the 1992 film. When Myers' character plays a few notes from the song on a guitar at a music store, an employee stops him and points to a sign that reads "No Stairway to Heaven."

Originally written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen, "Blinded by the Light" caught on after Manfred Mann's Earth Band released a cover of the song in 1976. Manfred Mann's version is decidedly different than Springsteen's original lyrics. The most prominent change is in the chorus, swapping Springsteen's "cut loose like a deuce" with "revved up like a deuce." The verse is commonly mistaken for a suggestive lyric that has only helped to elevate the song's profile. Springsteen joked about the song to VH1, saying it wasn't until Manfred Mann rewrote the lyric about a "feminine hygiene product" that it became popular.

Jon Bon Jovi wasn't initially fond of his band's signature song "Livin' on a Prayer" about a fictional working class couple who struggle to make ends meet and maintain their relationship. But guitarist Richie Sambora convinced him otherwise, so they tweaked the song with a new bass line, different drum fills and the use of a talk box to include in Bon Jovi's 1986 "Slippery When Wet" album. The result was instant No. 1 status and never-ending radio play.

We hope you enjoyed this review of overplayed songs. Was yours included? If not, add your suggestion for a future list in the comments section.

Comments

The views expressed are not those of this site, this station or its affiliated companies. By posting your comments you agree to accept our terms of use.